My DD7 is left handed and it's not a problem anywhere but in dance They are cleaning choreo now and 70% of the time she turns the wrong way or lifts the wrong foot! She can do it right and will if corrected, but after a while forgets and reverts back. I am at the point of having her wear a rubber band on her right hand and putting a mark on her right shoe as a reminder Any other suggestions would be appreciated. She knows she did it wrong as soon as she does it - I can see it on her face. But it still doesn't help to fix the problem consistently. And I feel for her! Everyone gets to do the moves on their good/easy side and she always has to work extra hard to get it on both because she has to learn every move on the left first and translate it to the right after, otherwise she won't get it at all.

At 7, many children do not even know how to turn, give her LOTS of time and she will get better. Be aware however that some children never turn as well on one side as they do other. But I know plenty of lefties who are wonderful turners (many are much stronger on their right too)! A good program will always teach to both sides of the body but it is natural that some will always be stronger on one side.

She isn't a great turner on either side yet; none of them are The problem is not so much mastering the moves themselves, as remembering to do them on the correct side during the routine (not just turns), otherwise she breaks the line. She tends to do them on the side she favors, rather than the side the choreography calls for.

My dd is a lefty too! Our studio actually has a fair number of lefties, so our teacher can usually choreograph to accommodate both preferences, which helps, but there are definitely times when my dd has to do things on the right. At 10, she is now able to do so more easily, but at 7, she had to practice a LOT.

Can you video the choreography so she has something to practice with? Definitely take the video from behind, so she can follow along with it just as she would follow along with the teacher in class. I bet if she will practice a few times a week with the video, she will get it down!

My youngest is right handed but left footed It is more natural for her to do things to the left in dance. Her splits, leaps, cartwheels etc on her left are nicer than her right. She used to get confused and turn the wrong way but hardly does it anymore at 10. The teachers will choreograph her to the left sometimes.

Originally Posted by Twinkletoesx2She is still young, it will come eventually. My youngest is right handed but left footed It is more natural for her to do things to the left in dance. Her splits, leaps, cartwheels etc on her left are nicer than her right. She used to get confused and turn the wrong way but hardly does it anymore at 10. The teachers will choreograph her to the left sometimes.

Ditto. Right handed kid for which everything on the left came easier. Eventually it all merges together. Don't worry about it.

She shouldn't learn on the right first. That's very confusing when learning choreography. She should learn the choreography whichever way it's intended to be performed. It's better to take longer up front than learn it all backwards and then reverse it

Originally Posted by Twinkletoesx2She is still young, it will come eventually. My youngest is right handed but left footed It is more natural for her to do things to the left in dance. Her splits, leaps, cartwheels etc on her left are nicer than her right. She used to get confused and turn the wrong way but hardly does it anymore at 10. The teachers will choreograph her to the left sometimes.

Ditto. Right handed kid for which everything on the left came easier. Eventually it all merges together. Don't worry about it.

Double ditto! And I'm the say way. Guess my dd14 got it from me. It also worked out in my dd's duet last year where her and her partner did some of the choreo mirror image.

Triple ditto! My now non-dancing daughter was exactly the same: right handed, but left footed. Everything came easy to her on the left, but she really struggled on the right. About the time everything started evening out is when she decided basketball was much more fun than dance!

Psmom, they learn the actual moves in technique classes and practice both sides, so not learning on the left is not an option. She does learn the choreography the correct way in the beginning, when she focuses and is following the teacher, but once she relaxes and stops paying such close attention, she automatically switches to her favored side. It's a matter of mental focus and concentration which most seven year olds are not known for

I am glad that the issue seems to resolve itself as kids mature Thank you for giving me some perspective, everyone! The idea of videotaping the routines from behind seems a good one to try as well.

I agree that recording the dance and using it to practice might help. My DD is also a lefty. Last year she struggled with a move for her recital dance for lyrical. She was laying on the correct side, but her instinct was to lift her left leg instead of her right. I had a recording of the dance that she watched and paused to see what it should look like. She practiced a lot and by recital she was able to do it correctly. I think DT had the whole class use the right because all but DD were right handed and it came more naturally for the majority. Sure, she may have to work harder right now, but with great challenge comes a greater sense of accomplishment. The joy on DD face when she nailed it was awesome.

Originally Posted by EJIDancePsmom, they learn the actual moves in technique classes and practice both sides, so not learning on the left is not an option. She does learn the choreography the correct way in the beginning, when she focuses and is following the teacher, but once she relaxes and stops paying such close attention, she automatically switches to her favored side. It's a matter of mental focus and concentration which most seven year olds are not known for

I am glad that the issue seems to resolve itself as kids mature Thank you for giving me some perspective, everyone! The idea of videotaping the routines from behind seems a good one to try as well.

Oh ok, sorry. I thought you meant she was learning the choreography reversed and then trying to do it the opposite way

My dancer is dyslexic, and when she was 7 she had the hardest time turning the correct way. It never made a difference for anything but turns. It eventually corrected itself, but it did lead to a few cringeworthy moments on stage when she was younger.

DD is a lefty and I still see times when she struggles but it has gotten much better with age - she is now 16. Filming from behind is a great idea and should help but I don't think I'd start that at age 7 unless she has completely bought in to the idea. DD at 7 probably wouldn't have gone for that at such a young age even though she danced plenty around the house when not in class. Your DD is still young and has many years of dancing ahead if she wants.

Originally Posted by Twinkletoesx2She is still young, it will come eventually. My youngest is right handed but left footed It is more natural for her to do things to the left in dance. Her splits, leaps, cartwheels etc on her left are nicer than her right. She used to get confused and turn the wrong way but hardly does it anymore at 10. The teachers will choreograph her to the left sometimes.

Ditto. Right handed kid for which everything on the left came easier. Eventually it all merges together. Don't worry about it.

Double ditto! And I'm the say way. Guess my dd14 got it from me. It also worked out in my dd's duet last year where her and her partner did some of the choreo mirror image.

My DD is technically right handed, although she is able to do most things ambidextrously. She's a right turner by nature, but she leaps left and tumbles left. She has learned as she's gotten older to do most things leading with both sides, but she hasn't quite mastered her right aerial yet. Sometimes this works as a benefit. She has a special part in her lyrical this year with two other girls because they are the only 3 that can do left Russians and in an aerial section where she was supposed to do her right aerial with several other girls, she now gets to go first and then they follow her since she does it left and they all do it right. I agree with others who have said don't worry about it. She is still very young and once she really masters some of these skills she will be able to learn to do them both ways.

Insert Photos

Web address (URL)

Image URL

If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. Large images may take a few minutes to appear.
Remember: Using others' images on the web without their permission may be bad manners, or worse, copyright infringement.